I know it’s still November, I know we’ve yet to pass Christmas and Hogmanay, but January is already looming large, heralding not only the beginning of a new year but a new beginning for me for, on 8th January 2007, I’ll be joining a new company.

It’s going to be a huge wrench to leave my current employer; I’ve had many opportunities here that I doubt I would have had elsewhere (an advantage of working for a smallish company), I work with some very smart people and have enjoyed some epic nights out, and as the office is situated in the heart of Glasgow the commute and shopping opportunities have me spoiled.

But.

I’ve been here for seven years, through three changes to the company name, a merger with a sister company, a round of redundancies and several changes of boss and team members. All that’s in the past now, but the environment of change is one I thrive on and as things have been stable over the past couple of years I guess that’s been a factor in my growing desire to seek pastures new.

I’ve learned a lot, more so than on any other job (mind you it’s the longest I’ve been in a job so that says something too), but my enthusiasm has been on the wane for the past year or so, I’ve turned down one job and was short-listed for another (losing out to an internal candidate, why do they do that? I know they must but… meh..) and when this job came along I still wasn’t that sure, until I met with them and chatted about the role.